1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains in general to the field of craniofacial treatments. More particularly, the application relates to a method and system of matching of a first set of data and a second set of data related to a region of interest in a craniofacial space.
2. Description of the Related Art
In WO 2008/083857 A1 of the same applicant as the present application, which hereby is incorporated in its entirety by reference for all purposes, a method and system for planning a dental restorative procedure of a patient and for producing a dental restoration or product related thereto and to be used in the dental restorative procedure are disclosed. Input data from different sources, e.g., 3D data from a CT scan of a patient with a dental impression tray including a previously prepared dental impression of the patient in the patient's mouth, can be matched with data from a high resolution 3D scan of the same dental impression. The resulting data may be matched using fiducial markers arranged at a dental impression tray.
However, the method and system disclosed in WO 2008/083857 A1 may be further improved with regard to the procedure of matching a first set of data and a second set of data related to a region of interest in a craniofacial space. There is in particular a need in some cases, of facilitating this matching when the first set of data and the second set of data are provided from two different input sources having different spatial resolution, compared to what is described in WO 2008/083857 A1. When matching data elements from input sources having different spatial resolution, misalignment of products that are produced based on matched data from the first set of data and the second set of data may occur, e.g., due to interpolation errors when identifying the fiducial markers for matching. Therefore, an improved or refined matching method and system providing or facilitating improved or refined matching can be advantageous. There is in particular a need in some cases, for providing matched data for use in virtual planning and provision of production data from the virtual planning for producing dental restorations or products related thereto, for allowing reliable dental restorative procedures.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,947,038, systems and methods for generating an appliance with tie points are disclosed. A marker attachable to a tooth is described having a plastic carrier and mounted on top of it a radiopaque tie point. Top points of the radiopaque tie point are visible at the surface of the plastic carrier. The top point is identifiable from an x-ray map and a 3D image map. The system and methods disclosed U.S. Pat. No. 6,947,038 are subject to the same issues as WO 2008/083857, due to the fact that 3D objects reconstructed from the different maps can have different resolutions, which lead to matching misalignments.
Hence, an improved method and system of facilitating matching of a first set of data and a second set of data related to a region of interest in a craniofacial space can be advantageous and in particular allowing for improved precision, increased flexibility, cost-effectiveness, and/or patient safety can be advantageous.